London

What great fun this past week has been!
Yesterday, I took trains and buses and the Tube to get to London. That was an adventure in itself. I was nervous about getting around Armed with my ticket and several Tube maps on my iPod, I ventured off from home on foot. At the bus stop, a young woman said she thought the buses were only running every 2 hours as it was a bank holiday. She was so concerned, she set off on foot. Two minutes after she left, the bus came. I had forgotten that I checked the route online for that specific day rather than for a generic Monday, so I was fine. The bus trip didn't last long, but long enough for a passenger to loudly curse out the driver and get kicked off the bus. He lamented loudly that he would be late for work, completely not recognizing that it was his own behavior that got him into trouble. People are funny.
Once at the rail station, I waited on the platform not even a half hour, sipping my cafe latte. It was cold! I later discovered that I wore exactly the right clothes for my day. I was comfy the whole time, except for a few minutes in the cafe at the British National Gallery where my hot tea warmed me up a bit too much. Once outside however, all was right again.
The train to Romford was slient and smooth. Very pleasant. We rolled through mostly farm lands, covered in frost with fog rising over them. I like that the trains are set down in a large ditch, for lack of a better word, so that they do not disrupt the look of the land. At Romford, there was a break in the train service, so all passengers going on climbed on board several doubledecker buses for the trip to the Tube station. At the tube, I was able to get a paper map as well. I really found that all these tools weren't necessary. There are tube maps everywhere, including on the trains themselves. It's quite easy to navigate. Not long after I arrived at my first connection, all my anxiety about getting around disappeared. I had mastered the basics. The only time I looked at a map on my iPod was when I wanted to rejoin the tour I took.

Coming up from the underground at Charing Cross, I walked directly onto Trafalgar Square. What a sight I had chosen as my first real view of London. Wonderful! That was my "pinch me" moment. All the years of studying European history, English literature, watching movies and dreaming about being there had me well prepared for what I beheld.

Never having been here before, I did not immediately notice the lack of pigeons. Did you know that pigeons are not allowed there? Apparently, for many many years, it was a common activity to feed the pigeons in the Square. Seed venders were abundant in the Square, calling "Feed the birds! Tuppence a bag!" reminiscent of Mary Poppins. Ken Livingston, Mayor of London, determined that pigeons were "flying rats" and were destructive to the Square, so he made feeding the birds illegal and banned the seed venders. That was not enough, however, to send the pigeons packing. The next step was to bring in a natural predator. Four hawks arrive in a hawk van everyday at 10:00 a.m. and are set loose to frighten off the pigeons. From what I learned, in the beginning, there were some pigeon deaths, not a lovely sight to behold, to be sure. Now, the arrival of the hawk van is enough to send most pigeons to another part of the city. No longer are any pigeons harmed. The word is out. I was worried that someone was feeding the pigeons birth control coated seeds or engaging in some type of chemical warfare, so I'm more at peace with this solution.




I found the spot near the Square to buy a ticket to go on the Original Bus Tour, as was recommended in my guide to England I brought with me. It supplied me with the phone number to call for information. It was well worth the 24GBP I spent. It took me all around the city with a live guide. Yes, I rode up on the top of the tour bus in the open air. I put my hood up on my winter coat and wrapped my scarf around me. It was still cold. The stories the guides tell while touring the city are most amusing! In front of Parliament, there are statues of great politicians, one of whom is Abraham Lincoln! Elsewhere in the city is a statue of George Washington. He apparently had announced during his political career that he would never set foot on English soil again! Under the statue of George is some imported Virginia soil - so said our guide. Back to the square in front of Parliament, Brian Haw and followers have been camping in tents. They have been there for 8 years, protesting the war in Iraq. Parliament Square has traditionally been a place for the expression of free speech.

Did you know that the only true City of London is where the financial district is now located? The rest of London is technically "London Town"

I got off the bus tour at the Tower of London. I only viewed the Tower from the outside. I was mostly there to take the included boat cruise on the Thames. Another fun ride, narrated by a guide, who tells that none of the guides on the boat cruises are professional guides, they are just members of the crew who have picked up a bit of information along their years working on the boats. It really was more of a stand up comedy routine and was really quite fun. According to our guide, as we passed the barges filled with large trash containers, London's trash is shipped to Essex and spread over it. Lovely. I live in Essex. It actually goes to a landfill in Southend. But we saw London Bridge, the new modern looking one; the Belfast, a ship from WWII, built in Belfast Ireland at the same shipbuilding site where the Titanic was built. The London Eye was in full view from the river. It moves so slowly that it's almost indiscernible.
When I came off the boat, I was right at Westminster. Here's that famous site.



As it was getting late in the day, I hopped back on the tour bus and headed back to Trafalgar Square. While I was there, I went in for a cup of tea at the cafe at the National Gallery. Once refreshed, I chose one section of the gallery to visit, leaving the rest for another time. I chose to visit the room with 19th century artists, the Impressionists. I saw works by Pissarro, Manet, Gauguin and Monet. This was another "pinch me" moment. The Gallery is free of charge so that everyone can visit. It's contents are said to belong to the British people. Donations are welcome, and many people drop coins in the boxes.

Outside the Gallery, musicians had set up and the number of people in the Square had increased. There was a pan flute player from South America in one area, a bagpiper in another and elsewhere were two men doing intricate dance-like moves on in-line skates.

As much as I would have liked to stay longer, it was time to head back toward home. Here's the Liverpool St. Station in London. I took the Tube to get here, then on a bus to the train station in Ingatestone. Then a train to Chelmsford and bus back home. The return journey was quick and easy.

If you would like to see more photos of this journey, as well as those from Stonehenge and Cambridge, please go here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonjam/